According to JLL, sustainability is rapidly rising as a priority in the UAE's real estate market

During a recent briefing in Dubai, which brought together industry experts and thought leaders to discuss the emirate's future, JLL, the world's leading real estate, investment management, and development consultancy, emphasised the need to embrace greater real estate transparency for a more sustainable future in line with its commitment to rapidly decarbonize cities.

Thierry Delvaux, CEO, Middle East, Africa and Turkey at JLL stated, “Higher real estate market transparency encourages higher investment levels. Therefore, inevitably, some of the highly transparent cities are considered to be preferred destinations for real estate investors -- Dubai being an ideal example of this phenomenon. With the Dubai Land Department continually striving to enhance transparency within the sector coupled with the country’s strong economic growth, and initiatives such as visa reforms, we see a buoyant, vibrant market in Dubai and the UAE. “It has become acutely apparent that if cities and nations are going to progress up the scale of transparency in the real estate sector, there needs to be tangible sustainability action,” he added.

Achieving a spot in the 'Transparent Tier' for the first time is a huge accomplishment for Dubai, but the Emirate will need to double down on programmes and legislation to develop low-carbon and resilient buildings if it wants to attract enterprises with ambitious ESG commitments. JLL's Global Research Director, City Futures, Jeremy Kelly, spoke with media about the company's global best practises for increasing real estate market transparency and how they could be implemented in the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf area. Transparent real estate markets, including those in the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and Australia, are where you'll find the most established norms.

As Kelly put it, "in these markets, legislation, standards, and metrics are being put in place to create sustainable, low carbon, and resilient buildings; the legal and regulatory frameworks are solid, enforced, and predictable; stakeholders can be sure that they are treated fairly when transactions are taking place; and crucially, there is good access to quality data at a building and market level combined with a high level of corporate disclosure." The United Arab Emirates (UAE) may move up the transparency list by doubling down on programmes to produce low-carbon and resilient real estate, as sustainability is becoming the new marker of real estate openness. While the country has made significant strides toward its sustainability goals, much more needs to be done in terms of energy and emissions standards for buildings, expanding sustainability initiatives to include older structures as well as new ones, and shifting from voluntary to mandatory regulatory frameworks. By prioritising environmental projects that bring about its Net Zero by 2050 pledge, Dubai can quickly advance to the Highly Transparent category. Kelly has noted that the emirate's hosting of COP28 presents a significant chance to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability. Kelly emphasised that the local real estate business should take use of the upcoming COP28 climate negotiations in the United Arab Emirates as a springboard into more sustainable operations.

Existing building stock will play an important role in global decarbonization, according to Louise Collins, JLL's Head of Project & Development Services in the UAE and Head of Engineering & Energy in the MEA. The real estate sector is responsible for over 40% of worldwide carbon emissions, thus it will play an important role in the fight against climate change. There is an obvious requirement to upgrade buildings in order to decarbonize assets and conform to global obligations if 80% of the building portfolio is still around in 2050. At COP 27 in Egypt, JLL organised an educational panel discussion titled "Cities, Real Estate, and Decarbonization" with the aim of inspiring concerted action towards decarbonization of real estate as a central component of climate policy. By working with respected international organisations like the World Green Building Council, JLL has been able to further its mission of promoting climate action for sustainable real estate, healthy spaces for all people, and inclusive places for thriving communities (WGBC). Victoria Burrows, Director, Advancing Net Zero at the World Green Building Council, reflected on the strategies that can help cities achieve a net zero economy and elaborated on how decarbonizing and electrifying the built environment will be critical to delivering a net zero global economy, highlighting imperatives like the greening of energy grids and concerted private and public partnerships. Property owners and tenants can and should consider alternatives to carbon when making decisions. The creation of green, healthy, regenerative, and resilient environments and places is a big but doable order that must be met. Property owners, investors, corporate occupants, national and local governments, and other important enablers need to work together to tighten the ambition loop as we face the decarbonization issue. Burrows emphasised the need of collaborating toward shared goals and adopting a life-cycle perspective on development as an integral element of the solution.